Madcap comic Spike Milligan told of his "surprise" at receiving an honorary knighthood from the Prince of Wales, whom he once made fun of during a live television show.

The 82-year-old described Charles as a "little grovelling bastard" at a comedy awards ceremony.

He later sent a fax to the Prince - an old friend - saying: "I suppose a knighthood is out of the question now."

But it was all smiles as the two men met for the ceremony at St James's Palace in London yesterday.

As they posed for photographs, Spike made Charles chuckle as he informed him: "Do you know, there are no dry cleaners in Peru? I thought the statistic would interest you."

The bemused Prince could only reply: "Well, that is something."

Afterwards the former Goon said he had been looking forward to the occasion.

"Well I could hardly have looked backwards to it, could I?"

Asked if he felt proud, he said: "I woke up this morning and I felt myself and I felt well so I got up."

But he added he had not expected to receive the honour. "It was a big surprise."

The veteran funnyman's knighthood for services to entertainment is honorary because he adopted his father's Irish nationality.

He refused to swear the oath of allegiance which stood between him and a British passport.

When Charles, who is a big fan of Milligan, pointed out that even he had to take the oath the cheeky comic replied: "Yes but it's your mother isn't it? You don't get board and lodging at Buckingham Palace if you don't swear the oath."

Spike, from Uddimore, near Rye, served in Italy and Africa in the Second World War, suffering shell shock which later led to bouts of manic depression.

After a series of menial jobs he hit the big time with Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine in The Goon Show.

Churning out scripts at a prolific rate caused Milligan a series of mental breakdowns.

Despite his health problems he carried on working and is now an accomplished poet and author with several volumes of war memoirs.

Milligan, who is recovering from severe kidney failure last October, was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife Shelagh, 56, and other members of his family.